In particular for sleep apnea therapy, various embodiments of occlusal splint arrangements are known from the state of the art. They basically aim at influencing the position of the upper jaw relative to the lower jaw so that the lower jaw, the tongue muscle and the soft palate are restricted to an appropriate degree from sinking backwards so as to keep the airways open.
An embodiment that is particularly suited for this purpose is disclosed in document DE 103 41 260 A1. The embodiment comprises a maxillary miniplast splint and a mandibular miniplast splint which can each be plugged onto the corresponding rows of teeth. Moreover, the miniplast splints have opposing contact surfaces so that they can be brought to bear against each other. To realize the required relative position of the miniplast splints toward each other, one miniplast splint comprises an adjusting device including a locking pin and the other miniplast splint has a complementary locking guide. The position of the mandibular miniplast splint relative to the maxillary miniplast splint is defined in that the locking pin engages into the locking guide.
Further, the afore-mentioned document has an adjusting device as well as alternative embodiments. The individual position of the mandibular miniplast splint relative to the maxillary miniplast splint can be influenced by the adjusting device. In the cited case, this is achieved in that the position of the locking pin in the adjusting device can be adjusted using an adjusting screw.
Although a reliable positioning between the maxillary and the mandibular miniplast splint for therapy of the sleep apnea syndrome is made possible by known embodiments from the state of the art, the latter per se each still have various disadvantages. On the one hand, they relate to the unnecessarily complex structure and the associated high production costs. Further, the susceptibility to the deposition of dirt is especially disadvantageous in spots that are hard to clean, thus being problematic from a hygienic point of view and requiring a corresponding chemical cleaning after each use.
US 2011/0155144 A1 describes an occlusal splint arrangement in which the mandibular and the maxillary miniplast splint are connected to each other in an articulated manner via two articulated levers and cannot be separated from each other. Adjustment to the upper and lower jaw takes place by a thermoplastic filler material.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,516,805 B1 describes an occlusal splint arrangement in which the mandibular and the maxillary miniplast splint can be fixed in relation to each other by a downwardly extending fixing protrusion. The fixing protrusion is exchangeably mounted in a guiding groove and is locked with a fixing screw.
US 2005/0028826 A1 describes an occlusal splint arrangement in which the mandibular and the maxillary miniplast splint are provided with removably attached positioning devices positioning the miniplast splints relative to each other. To attach the positioning devices, attachment plates are used that are embedded into the plastic of the miniplast splints and to each of which two circular attachment wires are attached. After the attachment plates have been embedded into the plastic of the miniplast splints, the attachment wires protrude sideways from the miniplast splint, and the positioning devices are plugged onto the attachment wires from the side. The problem therein is that the attachment of the positioning devices to the miniplast splints is not sufficiently secure. Moreover, if a positioning device is pushed off the attachment wires by unconscious jaw movements during sleep, for example, there is the danger that loose positioning device may be swallowed or inhaled, which poses an immense health risk.